LoadStorm has an example load test plan for you to try. It simulates browsing through a static web site installed on Amazon's S3. The content of the site is publicly available information from the CIA.

First, you copy the example.

• Go to the home page.
• Click on Copy Example button
• Select the radio button next to CIA FactBook.
• Click on the Try This Example button.

Review the test plan and scenarios.

• Click on the Build tab at the top.
• There is a test plan called CIA Factbook on S3; click on that link to see its details.
• There are 3 scenarios in this test plan; click on the first scenario name to see its details.
• There are 3 steps in this test scenario; click on the RUN STEPS button.
• LoadStorm will request the pages and fill-in the duration and transfer columns of the table.
• You can click on the #1 link to see the details of the first step. It will show the requested URL and some response information including an approximate rendering of the page received.

Run a load test

• Click on the RUN tab at the top.
• Click on the Add Load Test button.
• Select the "CIA" plan.
• Check the box next to Start as soon as possible (schedule the test to start immediately).
• Leave the pattern as linear (gradual ramp up of volume).
• Set the beginning and peak user counts (max 25 for free account).
• Click the Save button.

Analyze the test results

As LoadStorm issues requests and receives responses, it will calculate metrics and display them in graphs on this Run page. The graphs will be updated each minute with your load test results. The top graph shows volume as concurrent users, requests per second, and throughput (transfer of bytes). The bottom graph shows average response time, error rate, and peak response time (slowest request for that minute interval).

Once the test has completed, you will be able to click on the additional links to see more reports for this load test. For example, you can click on the link Show Requests by Response Time to get a report that provides the slowest requests at the top. This is a good place to find your poorest performing HTML pages, images, CSS files, or external Javascript libraries.

All of your load test results are stored for you under the Analyze tab. There will be a list of tests, and to see the graphs and other reports for a single test, simply click on the Details button next to the date of the load test.

That's about all there is to it. After reviewing an example, go back to the Build tab and create your own test plan against your target server.